


With Bottled Hopes & Dreams & Desires

by viiikachu



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Powers, EDM - Freeform, F/F, Music, Musicians, Nightclub, Recreational Drug Use, Star City
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:34:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23127115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viiikachu/pseuds/viiikachu
Summary: Ava Sharpe has moved to Star City to run her best friend Nora's new nightclub, The Bureau. She meets ultra-talented DJ Sara Lance and sparks fly.  Can the two find love in a hopeless place? Will their budding romance survive their working relationship and Sara's impending superstardom?Rated M for recreational drug & alcohol use, and maybe some other stuff later on, but it's definitely a T in the beginning.
Relationships: Nora Darhk & Ray Palmer, Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe
Comments: 3
Kudos: 60





	With Bottled Hopes & Dreams & Desires

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first-ever fic, please be gentle.  
> Catch me on Twitter @viiikachu.

It’s always strange to be in a club during the daytime. Everything was beautiful, pristine, but the emptiness of the space was stark in the calm, cool light of day. Ava took in the expansive room, the shiny white marble of the bar, the plush black leather of the high stools and the booths, tucked off to the side of a massive dancefloor. The stage was magnificent, an impressive affair set in front of gargantuan windows that spanned from the floor to all the way to the second floor above, where a balcony and another smaller bar could look down on it. The backdrop to any event would be the gorgeous Star City skyline, the city lights twinkling in the background.

Ava walked around, taking it all in. “Impressive place you have here, Nora,” she exhaled. “I can only imagine what it’s like at night.” 

Nora smiled. “Thank you. I actually bought the place on a kind of playgirl whim a couple months ago, but to be honest I have no idea what I’m doing.” Nora stared at the taller blonde with a pensive expression. “That actually brings me to why I brought you here.”

Ava leaned against the bar, and pursed her lips. “And why might that be?” she asked apprehensively. 

Nora let out a deep breath. “I was hoping I could...” she hesitated. “I wanted to ask you to accept the manager position. I want you to run The Bureau.”

Ava ran a hand through her long blonde hair and sighed. “I had a feeling that’s what you were up to.” She sighed. “I’m not saying no. Can we get some lunch and talk about it?” 

Nora picked up her purse. “Of course. Let’s go.”

Suddenly, the huge double doors opened and a hurricane flew in. A short blonde woman flew through and called out “Hey, Nora” as she threw her backpack onto the bar and walked around, unlocking the liquor cabinets and pulling out bar mats. 

“Oh hey Sara. What are you doing here so early?” Nora looked at her puzzled. The small blonde looked a little disheveled, but Ava couldn’t tell if that was from lack of sleep or if it was just her aesthetic. 

Sara pulled a worn notebook out of her backpack, flipped it open, and started scribbling. “I’m gonna do an inventory run before we get started for the night. We were already a little low, but got pretty well cleaned out after last night.” 

Nora nodded. “Thank you. I’m gonna step out for a bit, but text me if there’s anything I can help out with today.” She turned to Ava. “Ava, this is Sara Lance, she’s my lead bartender and she’s been helping out with a lot of my logistics until I find someone to take over day-to-day management. Sara, this is my best friend Ava Sharpe, she’s in town exploring **new opportunities**.” Nora put a little extra emphasis on the last two words, trying to entice Ava a bit more towards her previous offer. 

Sara looked up from her notebook and the liquor bottles she was eyeball-measuring. “Nice to meet you.” 

Ava gave a small nod back to her. “Why not just have her take over the management position then?” Ava wondered aloud to Nora. 

Nora rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Oh, I’ve offered, trust me.” Ava cocked her head to the side a little, and Sara, as if she’d heard Ava’s unasked question, gave a small chuckle. 

“I’m too busy,” she winked at Ava. 

It was disarming. Ava’s breath caught in her throat as she was lost in deep blue eyes for a moment. She mentally shook herself to break out of her reverie. “Sushi okay for lunch?” she asked Nora. 

“Sounds perfect,” came the reply. “Let’s go. Thanks again, Sara. We’ll see you later.”

* * *

  
  


Ava and Nora sat out on the patio of the small but high-end sushi restaurant, going over the details of the position Nora was offering Ava. The two had been friends since they had been randomly assigned as each other’s roommate in the dorms freshman year of college. Ava couldn’t say that she was caught completely caught off guard by what Nora was asking her to do; the small but feisty brunette was heiress to her father’s obscenely large (and partially ill-gotten) fortune, and she was known to make impulsive large purchases and sort the rest of the details out later. This club, The Bureau, was only the latest of such occurrences. 

“So how did you get yourself into this one, Nor?” Ava inquired. “I mean I know you love the socialite life, but I didn’t exactly expect you to go from frequenting nightclubs to owning one.”

Nora fiddled with her chopsticks. “It just kind of… happened. I started spending a lot of time at The Bureau specifically, I made friends with a lot of the entertainment, and a couple months ago, out of the blue, the original owner said that he couldn’t handle the stress and financial burden of keeping it open and running, that he was just going to sell the space and… I couldn’t let that happen.” She shrugged, picking up a piece of sashimi. “And I’ve got more money than I could possibly spend in like five lifetimes, so. Here we are.”

Ava looked at her pointedly. “Who’s the guy?” she asked, dipping her tuna roll into the little soy sauce dish and popping it into her mouth. 

Nora stared back at her innocently. “What guy?” 

The blonde raised an eyebrow back in response. “Come on. I know you. Something, or someone, was incentive enough for you to attempt this massive undertaking, instead of just finding a new club to hang out. So who is it?”

Nora huffed. “Maybe I just wanted to try to be a real part of things instead of just a spectator?” 

Ava snorted. “Uh-huh.”

“Anyway,” the brunette began, clearly shifting the conversation away from her love life. “We’re open Wednesday through Sunday nights, 7pm until 2am. I was able to keep most of the entertainment on, which is great because they’re all locals with great reputations and big followings. We do mostly electronic music, Wednesdays are Latin dance nights though.” Ava nodded. “I’ve got a good bar staff, although we could probably hire a couple more to fill in some gaps where needed. We definitely need to work on a more permanent situation for the security team. I have one good guy full-time, but I’ve had to resort to outsourcing to a private security company most weekends. I really want us to have our own staff instead of having to hire temps all the time.” 

Ava shifted back in her seat. “And what exactly are you looking for from me?” she asked. 

Nora took a deep breath. “Look, I know you haven’t exactly run a nightclub before, but you have a degree in business management, which is more than I can say for myself. I want you to come on and be in charge, but I also want to learn. I need someone in charge of staffing, scheduling, marketing, the works. Someone who can confidently oversee all the big decisions that need to be made. I have a lot of help right now, the Legends really have stepped up to make my ownership transition as smooth as possible, but it’s not sustainable for me to rely so hard on them forever. I mean, they’re family, and we’re all in this together. But I know it would make everyone’s lives easier if I had someone, if I had _you_ there to fill in all the gaps and be in charge.”

Nora’s phone buzzed, and she swiped it open, checking the notification. “Don’t decide right now,” she said to Ava as she looked up at her. “Come with me tonight, see the place in action. It’s Friday, it should be a good show tonight.”

“Fine.” Ava agreed. It’s not like she really had anything else to do while she was in town.

  
  


* * *

Ava and Nora had spent the rest of the afternoon, hanging out and catching up. They really hadn’t seen much of each other since Ava had graduated college. Nora, true to her own brand, had gotten bored and dropped out after 2 years, but remained Ava’s roommate and confidante until the blonde graduated. When Ava returned to her hometown of Fresno, she hadn’t intended on staying there, but then she’d met Lindsey and fell back into life there. Nora, for her part, had gone back to her own hometown of Star City after the death of her father, and thrived within the party scene of the city. It had been five long years since the two had really spent any time alone together. 

The two women pulled up to the front of The Bureau and handed Nora’s Audi TT over to the valet. Nora had been right, it was 10:30pm and the club was already popping. The two walked up the stairs and headed towards the security check-in. 

“How is it tonight, Mick?” Nora greeted the burly bald man standing at the door. 

“Usual Friday,” he grunted in response. Nora nodded.

Walking inside, Ava took in the whole scene. The Bureau in full swing really was a sight to behold. The main lights were low, but the space was bathed in an electric blue glow from the well-placed ambience lighting, coupled with the glow of the city lights coming in from the massive windows that lined the room. The dance floor was packed, sweaty bodies moving relentlessly to the thick house beats that thumped through the speakers. Nora pulled Ava around to the corner of the bar. There was a different bartender there than the stunning blonde Ava had met earlier. Nora subtly put a hand up, grabbing this bartender’s attention. With a short nod, the girl finished her interaction with another patron and walked up to Nora and Ava. 

“Hey boss-lady, who’s your friend?” the attractive brunette bartender inquired. 

Nora laughed, “Zari, I’ve told you a million times, don’t call me that.” She gestured at the tall blonde. “This is Ava, she’ll have a… scotch?” she tilted her head towards Ava in question. 

Ava nodded, glancing up at the bar’s selection. “Yeah,” she responded. “Macallan 14, one cube.”   
“You got it,” Zari replied, turning to grab the bottle. “The usual, Nora?” 

“You know it,” the tiny brunette agreed. “Sara getting ready?” 

Zari handed Ava her tumbler of scotch, and began expertly pouring gin into a shaker. “Yep. She’s on soon.”

Ava took a sip of her drink, wondering what the other two were going on about. Zari handed over a fancy light green cocktail in a stemmed glass. “Thanks, Z” Nora smiled at her gratefully as she took the glass. “Come on, Ava, let’s grab a spot up in VIP.” 

Arm in Ava’s, Nora led her up the stairs to the expansive VIP balcony that overlooked the entire dance floor. The two sat down on a plush and comfortable black leather couch as Ava took in the scene. She really was impressed with the turnout. At least 150 people were on the floor, dancing, writhing, sweating, just getting lost in the music. Up on stage, standing behind the decks, were two DJs who looked like pretty frat boys to Ava. The heavy beats broke down into a quiet, entrancing melody, and one of the guys took to the mic.

“Agents of the Bureau,” the shorter of the two DJs shouted into the microphone. “It’s been a pleasure as always on this fine Friday evening. We are the Time Bros, and this is gonna be our last track!” The crowd perked up with cheers and shouts, and the dancing didn’t stop.

Ava watched from the balcony in awe. “You weren’t kidding!” she half-shouted to Nora over the music. “These guys are good!” 

Nora looked on fondly. “Yeah, they are. But wait until you see the next act,” she yelled back.

The song went on, and Ava watched the stage as a tiny blonde woman dressed all in white hopped up, quickly setting up a laptop and controller. The blonde put on her own set of oversized headphones and fiddled with her controller buttons a bit, then looked at the two guys with a quick nod.

The taller of the two male DJs grabbed the mic. “Thank you so much for having us, now please welcome the myth, the legend, the White Canary! She’s gonna keep the dance floor hot, we better see you dancing all night long!” 

The music had shifted to a minimal beat with a dark haunting melody. The blonde at the decks was dancing along herself, eyes on her computer, both hands on her controller. Ava couldn’t take her eyes away. The DJ was breathtaking. Her tight jumpsuit clung to her every curve as if it was painted onto her, and it caught the blacklights on stage like her body was emanating some sort of light magical glow. 

As soon as the two male DJs from earlier had unplugged their gear and vacated the stage, the White Canary jumped on the mic herself. 

“What up Star City!” she yelled to the crowd with no restraint. The cheers were deafening. “Are you ready to party?” More screaming. “I can’t hear you! I SAID, DO YOU WANT TO GET DIRTY?” The dance floor seemed to lose its collective mind. “DO YOU WANT TO GET FILTHY?” Ava couldn’t breathe. It was like nothing she’d ever seen. “YOU DO? Sweet.” A switch was flipped, and the beat dropped to the dirtiest dubstep Ava had ever heard. 

“Holy fuck,” Ava breathed, knuckles white against the balcony railing. 

Nora glanced over at her, chuckling. “Yeah, Sara has that effect on people.”

Ava, whose entire body had involuntarily been lost to the music, jolted to a stop. “Wait, that’s- That’s the girl from earlier? The cute little blonde bartender?”

“Yup, that’s her,” Nora replied. “That’s why she’s too busy to run this place by herself, she plays here at least two nights a week, sometimes three.” 

“Damn,” Ava said, half to herself. She was still staring out onto the dancefloor, which had somehow, though seemingly impossible, grown packed with even more bodies. Ava’s eyes travelled back up to the stage, transfixed on Sara. The DJ was lost in her own mix, jumping up and down behind her decks, banging her head along to the beat. 

Ava snapped her body towards Nora with sudden decision. “I’ll do it. The job. I’ll take it.” 

Nora jumped up and down, squealing, unable to contain her glee. “Yes! Oh my god, thank you so much, you are saving my ass so much, you don’t even know! Thank you, thank you thank you!” She pulled the taller woman into a hug. “I swear you won’t regret this.”

As another track of trippy, distorted melody pumped through the speakers, Ava couldn’t help but glance back down to the bombshell blonde DJ downstairs. _I have never done anything this impulsive in my life, but there’s something about her._ Ava thought to herself. _Let’s hope this doesn’t go terribly._

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, it's my first one, I'm hoping to get better as I go along, and I have no beta reader.  
> I have a general idea of where this is going, but I'm still vague on a lot of small details, so I tried not to box myself in too much on this chapter.  
> I really just wanted to get a nice little premise setup here, I'm planning on introducing everyone's personalities a lot more in the coming chapters.  
> Feel free to yell at me on Twitter @viiikachu.  
> Also I've got a Spotify playlist that's being updated along with this fic, so if anyone's interested i might post that link for you.  
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
